Quilting is for the young and old alike
Quilting is an old and honored craft practiced all over the world. There are big Quilting Shows every year all over the country celebrating this great art. There are lots of books, videos, and quilting groups you can join right in your county just put Quilting and the name of your city and state into your favorite search engine and you will find several examples. One of the oldest websites about quilting is: http://www.quilt.com/
All you need to get started is one large piece of solid colored material or solid flat sheet, good sharp scissors, hand sewing needles, sewing thread, measuring tape, straight pins, a large piece of batting, embroidery thread, and square pieces of material, a sewing machine would be helpful but a large table is essential. The sewing machine will help you put it together faster but you can sew the whole thing by hand. It will take time and lots of patience. Oh, and you need a pattern or plan for the top piece.
The Basics of Quilting
In simplest terms, a quilt is just a three-part blanket. It has a soft, usually solid colored, backing, the middle has the fluffy material and on the top is sewn together pieces of material that form a pattern or patterns. All three layers are sewn together to form a quilt.
The bottom piece
Consists of material is almost always a solid color of some soft material that will feel nice next to the skin but will be able to wash in the washing machine. Most quilts are color themed to give it a finished and put-together look and the back piece should match one of the colors on top. Depending on if you want this to be a winter quilt to keep you warm or a lightweight quilt to throw on the bed during the summer the backing material can be a heavy fleece material, or a silky satin material, or even a lightweight cotton blend.
The middle portion
Is called Batting. It is usually a cotton-polyester blend material and can be bought at any crafts store. It is a cushion time material that gives your quilt pockets of air to keep in the warmth and gives it shape.
The top piece
Is where all the creativity really goes on. It can be a combination of just about any material that you wish it to be. Most quilters like to stick with just cotton material but I like to mix it up with satin, cotton, jersey, and other types of material. Your material can be bought at a store, taken from old clothes that do not have stains or rips in them, or from leftovers from other sewing projects. Most craft sections of larger stores and craft shops sell what is called “Fat Quarters” which is material bunched together in color groups already pre-cut so all you have to do is sew them together.
Once you have sewn enough material together in the pattern you like in a large rectangle all you have to do is put the three layers together, sew around the edges, criss-cross in the middle, and you are done.
Well, there is a little bit more to it if you want it to look nice and last a long time.
- Generally, you want to cut the batting the same size as your top piece sew them together all the way around with the front side of the top piece facing out, of course.
- Then you take the bottom piece and face it to the front of the top piece, sew it three-quarters of the way around leaving a hole in the top so that you can pull them right side out,
- then tack the three pieces together using embroidery floss of the same color as the bottom piece in little knots about four inches away from each other across and down the piece.
- Finally, tuck the open piece in and hand-sew shut using small stitches.
Videos for Beginners:
Essential Quilting Skills & Techniques Video Series
by Missouri Star Quilt Company Quilting Tutorials
Has a whole series of videos on YouTube that you can watch for FREE over and over again. Great for the beginner or even as a refresher for the long-time quilter. You can subscribe to their channel and receive notifications when they add a new video. Click on the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/user/MissouriQuiltCo/videos
Show Off Your Quilting Skills
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